Big Phil
Registered User
- Nov 2, 2003
- 31,703
- 4,146
Out of these guys all who arent in the Hall....yet, tell me who do you think should be in out of them?
Mark Recchi - His name almsot always makes you hesitate. There's no clear cut answer with him. So far in his career he has 1333 points in 1338 games. Thats a point per game. He has 117 points in 140 playoff games. You could argue he was a big part of both Cup wins in '91 and '06. In '91 only a small handful of guys have had more points (34) in a playoff year. His peak is pretty good but he only has one Second Team all-star selection in '92 to show for it (although he got gyped in '91 if you ask me). His best years point-wise are: 123, 113, 107, 97, 91, 80. That screams Hall of Fame. He led the league in assists in '00. He was in the top 10 in scoring 5 times which is impressive. The only thing that bugs me about him is that he was a huge supporting player on his teams but was never ever the guy you HAD to shut down if you wanted to win. And was he ever an elite player in the NHL? Was he a top 10 player in any year? Hard to say.
John Leclair - I've always liked him but have never been a fan of him being touted for the Hall. Sure he looks good on paper with being selected to the first team all-star in '95 and '98. And the Second team in '96, '97 and '99. Those numbers look good. His point totals are 97, 97, 90, 87 and 77. That isnt a lot when you look at it but considering he was a top 10 scorer 4 times those numbers look even better. Many people mention how the LW position is weak. It is, but he was battling against the likes of Kariya, Tkachuk and Shanahan for those spots. Pretty good company. His three straight 50 goal seasons are hard to ignore too. He led the league in +/- in '99 as well. The problem with Leclair is that he never started scoring until he was 25. And even then it only lasted until he was 31. He had a short peak and in that time he did nothing in the playoffs. His playoff numbers are shabby and other than '93 - when he won a Cup - he never did anything in the playoffs that you liked. Plus unlike Steve Shutt you got to see what he could really do without a superstar player on his line. Once Lindros was gone so was Leclair pretty much. To me that leaves a bad taste. I wouldnt put him in the Hall personally.
Rod BrindAmour - It gets harder to ignore him all the time. I'm not saying he should get in but with back to back Selke awards and winning a Cup and captaining a Cup champion he holds an interesting resume. Last year I wouldnt have batted an eyelash if he was the Conn Smythe winner since he was a huge reason why Carolina won. He's got 1063 points in 1265 games which is good, but only that - good. I have a hard time calling BrindAmour great. He's done some great stuff and he was a guy you never would kick off your team. You liked him and he was great for secondary support wherever he went. Personally that just isnt enough for me.
Luc Robitaille - No you arent going blind. I'm not suggesting he should be kept out of the Hall of Fame but to me he isnt the shoo-in that some have him pegged. If you look at his 8 selections to the all-star team you have to wonder why his name even gets brought up. But that's deceptive. He was at the LW position and while that shouldnt be a knock just look at the competition he was facing those years. 1987 first team: Goulet, 2nd team Robitaille. 1988 1st all-star: Robitaille, 2nd team Goulet. '89 first team: Robitaille, 2nd team Gallant. '90 first team: Robitaille, 2nd team Bellows. '91 first team: Robitaille, 2nd team Stevens. '92: first team Stevens, 2nd team Robitaille. '93 first team: Robitaille, 2nd team Stevens. '01 first team: Elias, 2nd team Robitaille. I think those 8 all-star selections are deceptive. Other than Goulet none of the players are Hall of Famers at the LW position. Sure Robitaille put up big points but of all those huge numbers he put up he was in the top 10 in scoring 4 times. Did Robitaille reach an elite level at any time? Was he a top 10 player in the game? His playoff numbers arent bad but he didnt win a Cup until '02 which he was a small part of. His all-star selections wont be ignored and while I'm not saying he isnt a Hall of Fame player I'm saying he isnt the 1st ballot player some make him out to be.
Gary Suter - He's a touchy one. Depending on who you ask Suter should never see the light of day in the Hall. People remember his cheap shot on Gretzky, Kariya and his wicked slash over the face of Andrei Lomakin in the '87 Canada Cup. But if you put all of those things aside he isnt that far off for the Hall and can at least be debated. He only has one Second team all-star in '88. He had 91 points that year which is great. I think from '87-96 Suter was a very good "near great" defenseman. In '86 he won the Calder Trophy and in '89 the Cup. He didnt play much in the playoffs in '89 but still has a pretty good playoff resume. On personality alone I wouldnt induct Suter - I couldnt stand him - and IMO he's still a bit short to ever get into the Hall. Now would be the time. People wont have a lasting memory of him in 30 years and feel they HAVE to put him in.
Mark Recchi - His name almsot always makes you hesitate. There's no clear cut answer with him. So far in his career he has 1333 points in 1338 games. Thats a point per game. He has 117 points in 140 playoff games. You could argue he was a big part of both Cup wins in '91 and '06. In '91 only a small handful of guys have had more points (34) in a playoff year. His peak is pretty good but he only has one Second Team all-star selection in '92 to show for it (although he got gyped in '91 if you ask me). His best years point-wise are: 123, 113, 107, 97, 91, 80. That screams Hall of Fame. He led the league in assists in '00. He was in the top 10 in scoring 5 times which is impressive. The only thing that bugs me about him is that he was a huge supporting player on his teams but was never ever the guy you HAD to shut down if you wanted to win. And was he ever an elite player in the NHL? Was he a top 10 player in any year? Hard to say.
John Leclair - I've always liked him but have never been a fan of him being touted for the Hall. Sure he looks good on paper with being selected to the first team all-star in '95 and '98. And the Second team in '96, '97 and '99. Those numbers look good. His point totals are 97, 97, 90, 87 and 77. That isnt a lot when you look at it but considering he was a top 10 scorer 4 times those numbers look even better. Many people mention how the LW position is weak. It is, but he was battling against the likes of Kariya, Tkachuk and Shanahan for those spots. Pretty good company. His three straight 50 goal seasons are hard to ignore too. He led the league in +/- in '99 as well. The problem with Leclair is that he never started scoring until he was 25. And even then it only lasted until he was 31. He had a short peak and in that time he did nothing in the playoffs. His playoff numbers are shabby and other than '93 - when he won a Cup - he never did anything in the playoffs that you liked. Plus unlike Steve Shutt you got to see what he could really do without a superstar player on his line. Once Lindros was gone so was Leclair pretty much. To me that leaves a bad taste. I wouldnt put him in the Hall personally.
Rod BrindAmour - It gets harder to ignore him all the time. I'm not saying he should get in but with back to back Selke awards and winning a Cup and captaining a Cup champion he holds an interesting resume. Last year I wouldnt have batted an eyelash if he was the Conn Smythe winner since he was a huge reason why Carolina won. He's got 1063 points in 1265 games which is good, but only that - good. I have a hard time calling BrindAmour great. He's done some great stuff and he was a guy you never would kick off your team. You liked him and he was great for secondary support wherever he went. Personally that just isnt enough for me.
Luc Robitaille - No you arent going blind. I'm not suggesting he should be kept out of the Hall of Fame but to me he isnt the shoo-in that some have him pegged. If you look at his 8 selections to the all-star team you have to wonder why his name even gets brought up. But that's deceptive. He was at the LW position and while that shouldnt be a knock just look at the competition he was facing those years. 1987 first team: Goulet, 2nd team Robitaille. 1988 1st all-star: Robitaille, 2nd team Goulet. '89 first team: Robitaille, 2nd team Gallant. '90 first team: Robitaille, 2nd team Bellows. '91 first team: Robitaille, 2nd team Stevens. '92: first team Stevens, 2nd team Robitaille. '93 first team: Robitaille, 2nd team Stevens. '01 first team: Elias, 2nd team Robitaille. I think those 8 all-star selections are deceptive. Other than Goulet none of the players are Hall of Famers at the LW position. Sure Robitaille put up big points but of all those huge numbers he put up he was in the top 10 in scoring 4 times. Did Robitaille reach an elite level at any time? Was he a top 10 player in the game? His playoff numbers arent bad but he didnt win a Cup until '02 which he was a small part of. His all-star selections wont be ignored and while I'm not saying he isnt a Hall of Fame player I'm saying he isnt the 1st ballot player some make him out to be.
Gary Suter - He's a touchy one. Depending on who you ask Suter should never see the light of day in the Hall. People remember his cheap shot on Gretzky, Kariya and his wicked slash over the face of Andrei Lomakin in the '87 Canada Cup. But if you put all of those things aside he isnt that far off for the Hall and can at least be debated. He only has one Second team all-star in '88. He had 91 points that year which is great. I think from '87-96 Suter was a very good "near great" defenseman. In '86 he won the Calder Trophy and in '89 the Cup. He didnt play much in the playoffs in '89 but still has a pretty good playoff resume. On personality alone I wouldnt induct Suter - I couldnt stand him - and IMO he's still a bit short to ever get into the Hall. Now would be the time. People wont have a lasting memory of him in 30 years and feel they HAVE to put him in.